Raijinshuu Appreciation Week 2017
by muddyevil
Summary: My contributions to Raijinshuu Appreciation Week 2017 . Each of these are also canon to my mixing magic series, just so you know *winky face*
1. Freed The Dark Justine

**A/N - Just so y'all know, this is set some time after the Grand Magic Games but before they go to Blue Pegasus, although it does jump around a bit time wise.**

* * *

Everyone always assumed that it was Laxus who invited her to the guild, but they were wrong. Not that anyone ever realised that, because not a single person had ever bothered to ask her. But it was late, and she was drunk, and that date on the calendar was ringing a bell and she _just figured out why_.

* * *

It had been cold. She remembered that. No snow had actually fallen, but the wind was biting through her thin cotton shirt that hadn't been washed since the last time it had rained. It only had a few holes in it, it would last a few more months as it was. She pulled her arms closer around her chest, shrinking further back into the alcove she had claimed as her own for the night. She was too tired to steal any more food tonight, too tired to even beg for money from the men and women walking past. Not that many of them had the money to spare, anyway. This was the poorer side of town, and if any of them had food in their bellies and a roof over their head it definitely wasn't enough for them to give food away to the street rats. The only reason she was here was the fact that she was less likely to have the rune knights called out on her. And the last time she had barely escaped them. She hoped that her stone magic wore off on its own, otherwise she had left a few dead men in her wake. Not that she cared. They always leered at her, now her body was changing. They didn't want to protect her, that was for sure.

She pushed her glasses further up her nose. They were too big, and they made everything blurry. She had stolen them out of the pocket of an old man as he was distracted by the cakes in the window of a shop on the posher side of town. But they were better than the alternative.

The first thing she saw was a shock of bright green hair as he walked past. She was sure she would have seen hair like that if he had been here before, but it was obvious he hadn't. He didn't belong here, he stuck out like a sore thumb. From the white pressed shirt to the bright red waistcoat to the perfectly shined boots he was too rich to have ever lived here. She would have feared for his safety if it wasn't for the comically oversized sword that swung from his hip. As she watched him walk, not weaving in and out of the adults or sticking to the shadows like she did but with his back straight and head held high she suddenly realised why he was there.

 _He was a prince and he was surveying his kingdom_.

She had to follow him. She couldn't read, but she had spent countless nights huddled in the treehouses of the rich families, and sometimes she could hear them tell stories to their children. The prince always fell in love with a poor girl, and they would get married and she would live as a princess forever. Evergreen's eyes lit up. It was all she had ever wanted and more. She shrugged off the old sheet she was using as a blanket and stretched her sore muscles. She couldn't let him get too far. She just had to look him in the eyes and he would be hers forever. Or, at least until she set him free but then he would see her and fall in love at first sight, right?

She slipped out of her alcove heading along the edge of the street, wanting to catch up with the boy but needing to keep to the shadows. He moved fast, but he underestimated her speed. She knew these streets, he didn't have a chance. All she needed to do was get in front of him and then he could be all hers. As soon as she drew level with him he seemed to speed up, but that must have been her imagination, he couldn't have known she was there. Jumping over one of the younger boys that had made his own bed behind some rubbish bins she smiled at her own stealth as she slipped back into the shadows. The Prince didn't slow his pace, or stop, but made a sharp turn to the left away from her and ducked into an alley. Why was he going in there? There was nothing down there except muck and the back entrances of some of the less reputable bars. Definitely not a place that she liked to go down, let alone a Prince. What was he doing down there? Maybe he was fighting crime with that sword of his. Her heart sped up. Not only was he Royalty, but he wanted to help out his citizens too. He was perfect.

Slipping into the alley behind him she spotted the boy with his back to her, stopped still with his right hand resting gently on the hilt of his sword. Was she walking in on an important deal? Was she going to ruin this for him?

"Why are you following me?"

His voice was higher than she had thought it would be. She had imagined deep, soothing tones but it had the tell-tale cadence of someone who hadn't hit puberty yet. She froze, not knowing how to respond to him. How had he known? She started to reverse back out of the alley, not breaking eye contact with his back until she could get into the open and sprint away. She could blend into the crowd like nobody else, he wouldn't have a chance. She must have gotten turned around at some point as her back bumped into a wall, and she moved her fingertips across it to try and feel her way out. It wasn't cold and wet like the bricks usually were, instead, it was smooth and slightly warm to the touch. She had never felt anything like it before.

"Jutsu Shiki. You cannot get out until you answer my question."

She stared at him as he turned around, and for the first time, she could see his face. One eye looked turquoise from above a birthmark on his cheek whereas the other was almost entirely black with a pink and purple iris that shone from behind a few strands of his hair. Evergreen took a deep breath, moving her hand up to play with her glasses. She may need her magic to get out of this. And plus, this way she would have a beautiful statue to admire for a while.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

It might have been threatening if his voice didn't crack halfway through. Evergreen had survived worse, she could survive this. She snatched at her glasses, pulling them off her face before opening her eyes with her magic shining out. She was going to turn him to stone, and then she would escape. He would come back to life at some point. Maybe. But when her eyes opened she was met with his eyelids and a self-contented smirk. She could hear her heart speed up. No one had ever managed to avoid it before.

"I was about to say I am used to avoiding eye magic. I do not know what yours does, but if I were a betting man I would say I would not enjoy it."

Evergreen pressed back into the magical wall. He was slightly shorter than her, so if he didn't have that sword then maybe she would have had a chance if she fought him hand to hand. Although… if his eyes were closed then he wouldn't have a chance at hitting her.

Bouncing on her bare feet she rushed forward, knowing that she would have to catch him off guard. She kept her eyes trained on his if he even tried to sneak a small look at her he would be hers. She collided with his torso, barreling him over until his back smashed against the dirt in the alleyway and she straddled his waist, starting to punch at his face. He kept his eyes screwed shut, raising his hands to protect himself as she kept whaling at his arms while they blocked his eyes. Wait. If he was blocking his eyes then he…

"Dark Ecriture: Pain."

The magic slipped under his arms to collide with her chest. All of her synapses fired at once, her muscles tensing as the pain flowed through her system. She screamed but knew that no one would come to help her. She was just another poor girl being attacked, and it wasn't worth anyone's life to even attempt to save her. The pain stopped almost as quickly as it started, and she scrabbled backwards through the filth until her back slammed against a real wall this time and she stared up at the boy in terror.

His eyes were closed again, and he patted through the dirt until he came across the frames of her glasses, picking them up into his hand as he stood. His perfect clothes had been sullied and crumpled, and she felt a pang of guilt before she chastised herself. Why should she care? He was going to kill her anyway, dirty clothes or not. He made his way over to her, feeling in front of him with his left hand until he found her face. She tried to shy away but he grabbed onto her cheek, much more gently than she thought he would. He pulled the arms from the glasses before stroking his fingers over her face until he found her eyes and slipped the glasses over them. The lenses had been cracked but they would hold her magic in place, and he seemed to know that as he opened his eyes and smiled down at her. Both irises were now that same shade of turquoise and he stroked her hair out of her face as she started to whimper.

"What do they do?"

His accent was clipped and his words were perfectly chosen, and she just knew it was royal. Who _was_ he? He must have seen her confusion because he clarified as he squatted down so he was at her level.

"Your eyes. What do they do?"

Evergreen sniffled slightly, hugging her knees. No one had ever been this nice to her before, what did he want to do to her? What did he want her to do to him? Her voice was quieter than she had heard before, and she wondered if he was even able to hear her.

"They turn people to stone."

The boy giggled slightly, rolling back on his feet as he held his right hand out for her to shake.

"My name is Freed Justine. What is yours?"

Evergreen took his hand in hers like she had seen other people do, and he shook it up and down slowly before letting it flop back down to her side.

"Evergreen."

Another warm smile, and for the first time, Evergreen felt herself warming to this child. She still didn't trust him, it was too good to be true and she knew she would wake up and this would all be a dream, or he would have sold her into slavery. She had heard stories about that, and the girls never came back. It would be clever, sending a child. She knew better than anyone that no one suspected children.

"No surname?"

Evergreen cocked her head to the side in confusion. She had seen dogs do it, and it worked for them.

"What's a surname?"

The boy laughed, standing up and trying to smooth out his clothes to no avail. They were still just as filthy as before.

"That's okay. You don't need a surname. A close friend of mine tells me that all the best people don't have a surname."

Evergreen laughed. She didn't understand what the boy was saying but it felt right to laugh at that point. A grin spread across his face, and he extended a hand to help her to her feet. She took it gingerly, and within seconds they were both on their feet and she was once again looking down at him.

"Would you like to meet him? My friend, that is. He can be a bit… strange… but he has eyes like yours. Well, not exactly but close. I have another friend too. He's strong, stronger than me, and he can give you a home if you would like. Train that magic up too. Did you know that people with eye magic often have a secondary magic as well? Do you know what yours is?"

Evergreen couldn't believe what she was hearing. This couldn't be right. She was being led to her death, but maybe it would be a quicker death than out on the streets. Even if she could experience luxury for a day, that would be worth dying for. She shook her head at his questions and he started to tug on her hand as they headed out of the alleyway. Just before he was about to bump into the invisible wall she had backed into earlier, the barrier fell in a shower of purple characters she had never seen before and they walked straight through. The falling letters felt like butterflies.

"I have eye magic too, you know. That is what I used to attack you earlier. I am sorry, by the way. But mine aren't always active like yours."

He had dragged her out into the main road, street lights just starting to flicker into life as the sky grew dark. It gave the street an otherworldly glow that she was too familiar with. This district was poor, they couldn't afford the magic for proper lighting.

"Freed Justine, where're you taking me?"

The boy looked over his shoulder, smiling as he tugged on her hand to make her hurry alongside him.

"It's just Freed. And to Fairy Tail, of course."

Evergreen's heart skipped a beat. Fairy Tail. It sounded nice. She didn't know what a fairy was, but she was sure she was going to find out soon enough.

* * *

"What are you thinking about?"

Evergreen looked up to see Freed standing next to her, putting his own drink down on the table. There was a party going on around them, celebrating something or another that Evergreen didn't really care about. He had a glint in his eye, the one he always got when he had slightly too much to drink. Freed had always been a storyteller through and through, but it had never really been _her_. As far back as she could remember Freed told stories. When he was drunk, when Bickslow was trying to get to sleep and on long nights when the two of them stayed watch while the others slept. He told stories of jobs he had been on, tales he had read in books or gossip he had heard from around the guild. But his most important story he had told her only once.

* * *

Freed was fighting far more than someone who had lost that amount of blood should be able to fight. He had been hit, hard, and it was all Evergreen's fault. She was supposed to be taking down everyone on the left side of the battlefield as Freed set up his traps, but someone snuck behind her. The spear that had lodged in his spine was still hanging down as Laxus carried him towards the hospital and Bickslow stayed behind to hold down the battlefield. Evergreen had offered to stay behind as well, but the Sieth simply shook his head as he pulled his mask off his face and threw himself back out there.

"You'll just get in the way. I'm trying out something new and I can't risk looking you in the eyes."

Evergreen knew exactly what it meant. He thought she was too weak to fight alongside him. And to be honest, she didn't blame him. That's how she ended up running in front of Laxus, reading a map to the nearest hospital while Freed kicked and screamed.

"Stop it, Freed! You're going to injure yourself more!"

Laxus grunted as a stray fist collided with the side of his head and he sped up in his running. His lightning body would have been so much faster, but he couldn't risk the trauma it would put Freed's body through, and it forced him to run the ten minutes to the nearest hospital. He managed to keep pace with Evergreen despite the extra weight, and he focused on putting one foot in front of the other as they got closer and closer to salvation.

Evergreen was sat staring at her hands when Freed woke up. Laxus had gone back to check on Bickslow and wreak revenge on the dark guild that had done this to Freed, and the nurses had left him alone for the night. They had been told that he should make a full recovery, he just needed to rest now and let the magic they had used take effect.

As soon as he woke he started screaming, and Evergreen rushed to his side and took his hand in hers. He struggled against her, trying to get out of the bed but she pushed against his shoulders to hold him down.

"Freed! You have to stay down, you're…"

"Why did you bring me here?"

His voice was loud as it cut across hers, and his right eye started to shine with magic as he writhed in fear. His hair had come loose and was wild around his head and he shook his shoulders to try and get her off him.

"Why didn't you treat me back there? I had first aid supplies, you could have…"

Evergreen screamed, tears starting to pour from her eyes as she fought. It seemed to slow him a bit, his eyes widening as the first liquid dropped down onto his cheek and his magic dissipated.

"You had a weapon _in your spine_! Nothing we could have done ever would have saved you!"

Freed sighed heavily, collapsing back onto the bed sheets and groaning as it shot pain throughout his own body.

"But why the hospital? Laxus knows I hate the hospital, why not Porlyusica?"

Evergreen collapsed onto the bed next to him. She pressed the base of her hands into her eyes to try and wipe away the tears, but it didn't help. All of this was her fault.

"We didn't have time, Freed. I'm sorry, I…"

Freed's hand found it's way up to the back of Evergreen's hair and he pulled her down into a hug as he started to rub circles on her back.

"You're not blaming yourself are you, Ever?"

Evergreen simply snuffled slightly. It was bad enough that she was the weakest member of the team, let alone Freed never letting her take the fall even when it was definitely her fault. He always said that their team was more of a family than a team, more of a family than the rest of Fairy Tail. She had never had brothers, not that she remembered anyway, and in the last five years, she had found herself with three.

"I shouldn't have let anyone past, I should have…"

Her words descended into sobs as she curled up into his side and Freed tried hard not to wince at the pain it caused him. That would only make it worse.

"Did you want me to tell you a story, Evergreen?"

Evergreen nodded, not trusting herself to even open her mouth anymore as she knew she would start crying again. Freed smiled, he could read his team like a book. Whenever Bickslow needed calming down, he would sing. Whenever Laxus needed calming down he would slip into talking tactics about upcoming battles, or how they could have improved previous encounters. And whenever Evergreen needed calming, he would tell her stories.

"What story would you like to hear?"

Evergreen tilted her head to wipe her eyes, looking up at Freed as she did. She wanted to ask but had never found a time before. It couldn't hurt, right? If he didn't want to tell her, then he simply wouldn't tell her.

"Why are you so afraid of hospitals, Freed?"

Freed sighed, looking up at the ceiling as he warred with himself as to whether or not to tell her. Taking a deep breath he decided that as he knew everything about her, it was only fair if he told her about him.

* * *

Freed had been born into a noble family. Not close enough to the king in order to ever be in line to the throne, but close enough that appearances were everything. Not that he ever would have been able to rule, anyway. It was made apparent to him even when he was a small child that he was illegitimate, the product of an affair his mother had with a servant. His childhood had been lonely, to say the least, hated by everyone but still kept around because _his stepfather couldn't produce a child_. Not that that fact stopped the man from telling Freed regularly what a mistake he was. He had spent the majority of his time in the library, teaching himself to read and write and educating himself to the world outside. He had been told magic existed, but apart from the occasional wizard servants they had he had never seen it used.

His own magic had manifested early. He first realised it when he woke up one day, looked in the mirror and his right eye was black. He had started screaming, falling to the floor as he clutched onto his face and the servants rushed in around him. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was them calling for his mother.

He had woken up in a hospital bed. His clothes had been stripped off him and he was left with a hospital gown and nothing to read. He had to just lie there, right eye bandaged up, as he listened to the doctors talk to his mother in the other room. Apparently, his stepfather couldn't be bothered to come.

It was experimental surgery. It had never been successful before, but that was on children with _two_ magical eyes. As Freed only had the one, it was much more likely to go well. And if they did have to remove the eye, at least he would only be half blind.

The procedure would be painful. His mother didn't care. He may not survive it. His mother paused a little longer on that one, but it was still less than thirty seconds before she said it was fine. No child at all was better than a child with dark magic, after all.

The next few weeks of Freed's existence passed by in a blur of pain. When he wasn't in operations to try and get the magic removed he was laying on his bed, back arching as the pain remained spasming through his body. He never got any visitors, and the doctors and nurses avoided him after the time he turned into a literal demon on the operating table. The lack of windows in his room and the way his sleep schedule was fucked up with all the anaesthesia made logging the passage of time impossible, and so he didn't know exactly how long he had been there until he heard the next human talk to him.

"Hello!"

Freed looked lazily to the side as another boy, just a little older than him, was wheeled into the room. He had a bright shock of yellow hair and warm orange eyes that at any other time Freed would have found comforting. He grunted in return, his voice far too out of practice for him to say anything out loud, but the boy still grinned until the nurses had left the room.

"My name is Laxus, what's yours?"

Freed sighed, grabbing a piece of paper off the side of his desk along with a pen and scribbled down his name. He couldn't trust his voice right now. He passed it over to the boy in the bed next to him and watched as he struggled to read it.

"Freed Just… ine. That's a cool name! My full name is Laxus Dreyar, and it's nice to meet you!"

After that Freed's life improved. The boy who he shared a room with was chatty and told him so many stories about himself and his life outside the hospital. He was the grandson of one of the most powerful mages in the country, and his father was a powerful mage as well. He grew up in a guild called Fairy Tail, surrounded by people with magical powers but he himself had none. That's why he was here, they were implanting a lacrima inside of him to give him magic. He had told Freed the last point when the boy had come back from the operating theatre with a bandage across his face. His body had finally accepted the lacrima, but at the same time the electricity inside it had arced and cut across his face. It was certainly going to scar, but Laxus found the thought of it exciting.

"You know, it is highly amusing."

The blonde boy froze, hearing his roommate's voice for the first time since they had met. It was crackly like he hadn't used it in a long time. He had assumed that he wasn't even able to talk.

"That you are in here to have magic implanted, while they are trying to rip mine out."

Laxus stayed silent at that. He knew the treatment the other boy was going through was painful, too many nights he had awoken to the younger boy sobbing and had to leave his bed to try and soothe him. One turquoise eye turned up to meet him, and the other boy ran a hand through the hair that had been shaved too short to even begin to see the colour.

"I am going to miss you, Laxus Dreyar."

The implication hit Laxus like a brick wall. Now that the lacrima had taken, he wasn't going to be staying in the hospital anymore. He was going to go and his new, maybe even only friend outside of Fairy Tail was going to stay here. And the only friend who liked him for him, and not just to suck up to his father and grandfather. He could hear the nurses talk, he knew that the treatments weren't working and they were just going to jack up the intensity behind them. He also heard when they said he probably wouldn't survive it. He took one look at the small boy, tiny in his little gown and massive bed and made up his mind.

"Let's run away together."

For the first time in his short life, Laxus understood the importance of time. He was getting stronger and healthier, and thus closer to being discharged while Freed was only growing weaker. Either Laxus was going to be released or Freed was going to die in his hospital bed and he couldn't even begin to guess which would be first. The younger boy couldn't even talk if he wanted to, and spent every day in fits of pain or violent seizures as his body started to give out on him. They hadn't come up with a solid plan, even Laxus knew that, but they were going to have to escape tonight.

"Can you stand?"

He looked over at Freed. He was squirrelled up in his bed, bandaged eye hidden in pillows as the other looked dully through a hole in the sheets. He hadn't spoken since the first time, and the last few days he had been unable to even write. Laxus used one of the words he was forbidden to use but heard around the guild a lot. There was no way he would be able to carry the younger boy, no matter how small and weak he was.

Freed himself knew he didn't have long left. He could feel it when he came back from his treatment that day. The demon that lived in his eye escaped again, he didn't have enough power to hold it in, and it took all the energy he had with it. The next step was having his eye removed, but they whispered that the demon might migrate to his other eye. Freed didn't think it would. The operation would kill him.

Laxus came back that day in a wheelchair. He looked weak as the nurses helped him to his bed and tucked him in with a care Freed had never received himself. But he grinned as soon as the nurse was gone, pulling himself up to sitting and almost bouncing in his bed.

"They shocked me today. I've never felt more powerful! But I pretended I wasn't so I could get a chair for you. We have about an hour till dark and then we're breaking out of here."

Freed couldn't react to that. He didn't have the strength. Was escape possible? Or was he just dragging his friend down with him?

Laxus spent the next hour collecting the dry food he had squirrelled away in the last couple of days into a pillowcase and tying it onto the back of the wheelchair along with padding the seat out with blankets. He was told it might be cold out there. Freed watched him while he remained bundled in his own blanket. How long did he expect to survive out there?

Finally, Laxus made his way over to Freed, hauling the younger boy into the chair and wrapping a blanket around him. Before they could set off Freed tugged weakly at his sleeve, before pointing to the bandage over his eye. Laxus was confused for a second, before going around to the back of Freed's head to start unwinding it. As soon as it was completely free of his head he dropped it to the floor before his curiosity got the better of him and he went to see his friend's forbidden eye.

It was breathtaking, and even at his young age, Laxus knew it was beautiful. A purple iris was surrounded by an almost jet black sclera, and the colours swirled and moved in a way that mesmerised Laxus. He couldn't look away, and in the end, it was only when Freed closed his eyes and tilted his head down that the trance was lost. Laxus shook his head, knowing that he couldn't waste any more time before running back behind Freed and starting to push.

They got most of the way out of the hospital before Laxus realised just how heavily guarded the place was. He already knew that most of the rooms had no windows and a solid door, but he hadn't expected the high wall around the outside along with the multitude of guards. The first couple he managed to electrocute, but the third managed to send out a warning before he fell. Before they knew it they were swarmed, and Laxus knew the game was up. Slowing the chair down he stopped, trying to work out just how many he could take out before he was done.

Freed felt his chair slow beneath him and regarded the big men that were surrounding them. He could see the gate to the outside, to the forest beyond where he would be able to be free. These men would take him back, back to all the hurt and the pain. He started to scream, clenching his eyes shut as power started to build behind them. The memory of his pain, his suffering, all the agony he had been through swirled in his mind until he couldn't hold it anymore and he exploded.

He could see the characters fly from his right eye, and hit one by one into the men around them. Each of them started to scream, their voices mirroring his from inside the hospital and for a moment Freed felt bad, until Laxus started pushing on the back of his wheelchair again, running the two of them towards freedom, towards a life without any more pain. As soon as they were out of the hospital grounds Laxus wrapped Freed's arm around his shoulders, grabbed their rations and started to run into the woods, leaving what seemed like hundreds of men still screaming in pain behind them.

* * *

"We were in the woods for eight days before Makarov found us. I thought he was going to kill me, and I kicked and screamed until he told me he was taking me back to Fairy Tail. My family had offered him 50 million Jewel to take me in and keep my heritage a secret."

Evergreen didn't move her head up from his chest, remaining silent throughout the whole of his story and just listening to his voice. Freed's fists had clenched and unclenched throughout the whole tale, his voice wavering slightly at some points. She could definitely see why, in the five years she had known him, Freed had never visited a hospital even if the entire rest of his team were being treated there.

"He refused to take it, of course. Told me he didn't need money to want to take me. Laxus had finally found a friend. I think he was punished for the escape, but he never really talks about it. Neither of us does. It wasn't the best way to meet."

Evergreen could feel Freed's fingers start to twirl through her hair, more to calm himself down than her. If it was anyone else she would have pulled away, but not Freed. He did enough for his team, he deserved some of the little luxuries. He stayed silent for a few moments, but Evergreen wanted to know more.

"Where are your family now?"

Evergreen felt a shrug before Freed hissed in pain. Obviously, the painkillers were wearing off slightly. She would call a nurse as soon as they were done.

"Living the same life they were living when I left. They're still childless, still spinning lies about what happened to me at royal parties. And before you ask, no. They've never tried to contact me."

Evergreen sighed. She couldn't even remember her family, and she wasn't sure whether that was better. She sat up, looking into Freed's eyes and pressing a call button to get him more painkillers. She held his hand as his breath quickened at the sight of the nurse, and his fingers crushed into hers as the needle entered his skin. She watched his eyes close as sleep began to take over him before he opened his mouth again and spoke in little more than a whisper.

"Don't get me wrong, Evergreen. I'm happy. I have two brothers and the most wonderful sister. I don't need anyone but the Raijinshuu."

* * *

Evergreen was ripped out of her memories by Freed sitting in the chair opposite her, taking a long drink from his tankard. He never drank much but hey, this was a party.

"How many years has it been now?"

Evergreen scoffed. She knew he knew how many years it was. He was just trying to make some sort of conversation, one which they would both be comfortable with having in the middle of a party where anyone could hear.

"An entire decade. Ten years."

A smile spread across Freed's face, and he sat back in his chair. Looking to the left he could see Laxus trying to outdrink Cana, and Bickslow was hidden somewhere in the rafters of the guild, his five totems busy annoying anyone they could find.

"Did you want to do anything?"

Evergreen knew what he meant. In the absence of knowing when his real birthday was, Bickslow always celebrated the date he joined the guild as his birthday. Evergreen couldn't see the point. She shook her head, and Freed didn't even question before he took another sip of his drink and they slipped into another comfortable silence.

"What about you, Freed?"

The rune mage stopped watching Natsu and Gray start another fight to look at her questioningly. If she had been any less drunk she never would have said it, but there was enough alcohol swimming through her system that she didn't care.

"You know when your actual birthday is, and still you don't tell us."

Freed paused. He had never told her that the birthday they celebrated was a rough approximation of the day he met Laxus. Evergreen saw the confusion on his face and smirked.

"Being all private and secretive is all very well and good, but you write everything down in journals that you don't even try to protect."

Freed laughed slightly, finishing his beer before his mug disappeared in a cloud of runes, and Evergreen noticed a barrier erupting around them and she knew anything that was said wouldn't be overheard.

"I figure what's the point of celebrating my birth into a family that couldn't give a shit whether I'm alive or dead. I celebrate the day I found my real family."

Evergreen smiled slightly, dragging a finger around the rim of her drink. Well, when he put it like that maybe she had to celebrate.

"Alright, I bite. Let's have our own little party, over here. We don't tell anyone else what it's for though, deal?"

Freed smiled. It was difficult enough to get Evergreen to agree to anything, but maybe this was it. He let his runes fall, called to his two brothers and prepared to celebrate a decade since his family was completed.

* * *

Freed awoke to a pounding headache and a dead leg. At least he had made it to a bed, but as he pulled his head up to survey his surroundings he could see Bickslow sprawled over the lower half of his body, his totems littering around the bed. Obviously, the Sieth hadn't been so lucky. Rubbing his eyes, and cursing at the bright sunlight that was breaking through the window, he turned over to grab a book to read until Bickslow woke up. As his hand groped over the bedside table he made contact with a small box that definitely wasn't there when he went to sleep.

It was beautifully ornate, made out of some sort of oak with a delicate filigree flowing out from a golden clasp on the front. Pressing the button slowly he watched as the lid sprang open, revealing a small fairy inside that slowly span to a tinkling tune and a small note. He clasped the note between his fingers and instantly recognised the intricate handwriting Evergreen had insisted on copying from her favourite book when Freed had taught her how to read.

" _Thank you for rescuing me, Freed Justine"_

* * *

 **A/N - My first submission to Raijinshuu appreciation week! My plan for the first three prompts is the member of the Raijinshuu as seen by another member, for example this if Freed seen through the eyes of Evergreen. Hopefully that makes sense?**

 **Check out the prompts and other awesome entries on Tumblr - raijinshuuappreciation**

 **Many thanks to Gajeelswoman for the betaing and Kmmcm for the blind testing!**

 **(This has been uploaded a day early due to being super busy tomorrow)**


	2. Bickslow

"How do you even deal with that?"

It was a question Freed had heard many times before. Although Gajeel was probably being specific to that incident, Freed was very gifted at seeing the meaning behind words and what he actually meant was _How do you put up with Bickslow?_

Freed and Levy were sat at opposite ends of the biggest table in the guild's library, books scattered between them as they worked together on a particularly large and difficult translation job. Gajeel was sat not far away, having dragged all of the bean bags they had used as kids into a corner and thrown himself down onto them when he realised he was in for the long haul.

It had been a few minutes since Bickslow came flying into the room, literally, and announced to Freed that he was bored. By the way he stumbled as he jumped off his babies Freed could tell he was drunk, and he sauntered over until he threw his arms around Freed's neck and rested his cheek on his crown.

"How long are you going to be?"

Freed sighed, looking over the books in front of him and glancing at Levy as she worked on through the distraction.

"I don't know, Bickslow, probably a while."

Bickslow groaned audibly, sinking to the floor and nearly choking Freed as his arms went with him. He spent a few moments slamming his head into the back of the Rune Mage's chair, before he groaned again and with a wave of his hand chaos ensued.

Freed managed to throw up a rune trap before too many of the documents on their table were disturbed, but the books in the rest of the library weren't so lucky. Bickslow's totems slammed into bookshelves, and even though they didn't look heavy enough they succeeded in knocking them down almost every time. Levy screamed as the destruction of books finally pulled her from her trance, and that was enough to spur Gajeel into action. Freed pretended not to notice as the Dragon Slayer picked up Bickslow by the collar and held him in the air. Bickslow struggled a while, but even though he had been training hard recently close range combat had always been a weakness of his, and he didn't stand a chance against a master like Gajeel. Bickslow whined in annoyance as the other man growled, his eyes narrowing as they stared into Bickslow's mask.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Bickslow imitated Gajeel's cackle, not even stopping when the other man's fist drew back threateningly.

"Many things, mate. Many things."

Gajeel growled again as Bickslow descended into fits of giggles, and Freed realised he would need to step in soon or his friend might actually get hurt.

"Gajeel, you can put him down. He won't bother us again. Bickslow, I promise I'll be home before you go to bed. Go watch a movie or something."

Gajeel sighed as he dropped Bickslow to the floor, whatever scrap of self preservation the Sieth had kicking in and forcing him and the totems to sprint up the stairs and escape. Gajeel scoffed, picking up the books which had hit the floor before returning to his seat and asking Freed the fateful question.

The truth was that Bickslow had been a thorn in the side of all of Freed's plans since the day they met. From the job that he ruined when him and Laxus had stumbled across the young boy in the woods, to the chaotic way his babies bothered Freed whenever he was annoyed. But in the same vein he had made Freed's life so much richer. Freed had never played as a child, never been hugged or had comforting touches. Laxus only gave or received comfort on his own terms, Evergreen very rarely wanted any sort of touch but Bickslow craved attention, often crawling into Freed's bed when the nightmares got too much. Bickslow made him _laugh_ too. Fair enough it was often at his own expense, but it was still refreshing to take a break from the uptight persona he always portrayed to the world.

He sighed, thinking through in his head how he could put all of his feelings in words to explain to Gajeel why he still put up with someone who in any other circumstances would be his worst enemy. But Freed was a master of words, and he ran through a few in his head before he spoke out loud.

"I've been around Bickslow long enough that I don't have to hide anything of myself when I'm around him. Surely you understand the value of someone like that, Gajeel?"

* * *

If there was one thing that Freed hated more than anything else it was breaking promises. Promises were like rules, and rules were vitally important in his life. So that was why his heart fell when he pushed open the door of his apartment later than he had planned and saw Bickslow fast asleep on the sofa, video lacrima still blaring as his babies hovered in the air around him. The fact they were floating and not asleep meant that Bickslow was starting to have one of his nightmares. At least he had got there before it got too bad.

Waving an arm to turn the lacrima off he crouched in front of Bickslow, throwing an arm over his own eyes so he wouldn't accidentally be taken over. He shook his shoulder slightly, letting the Sieth wake up gently and turn over onto his back as he groaned.

"Come on, Bickslow. Time to go to bed."

The totems all listed slowly onto the floor as Bickslow whined, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve as he began to wake up.

"Can I come and sleep with you?"

Freed sighed, they were both in their twenties now they really shouldn't be sharing a bed. But as he looked at Bickslow he could see the terror in his face, and just like every time the Sieth had asked in the last decade Freed gave in.

* * *

Freed didn't know what it was that brought the memory back that night. Whether it was going to come up anyway, with Bickslow's arm thrown across his chest and crushing his ribs as the Sieth slept or whether it was because of Gajeel's earlier question, the night that he had found Bickslow was at the forefront of his mind as he lay in the dark. He turned his eyes up to his bookshelf, and to the small cloth doll that lay there.

It had been a simple job, in theory. The two of them had been on much worse, especially for a teenager and his ten year old friend. In fact they had completed the main aim of their mission in much less time than had been predicted by anyone. The client had asked for security for the night, and despite his initial displeasure at the age of his newfound bodyguards he couldn't argue with the efficient way they had found the thieves that had been systematically breaking into his shop, took them out and held them there until the Rune Knights arrived. On the way back they had decided to make a shortcut through one of the larger forests. None of the monsters that usually lived in those woods would be any sort of a match for them, and plus it would be nostalgic. It had been too long since they had spent the night under the trees, with nothing but Freed's runes for shelter. There was a few inches of snow on the ground, but nothing that couldn't be cleared away and the newest runes Freed had learned kept their clothes nice and warm.

The first inkling they had that something was wrong was Laxus' ears picking up an almost rhythmic chanting, whooping and hollering far off in the woods. There were no religious festivals occurring that either of them knew of for at least a couple of weeks, and Laxus gestured for Freed to get behind him, at least until they knew what was going on. He was still the larger of the two, and could easily hold off multiple enemies until Freed wrote his runes. Freed could use his demon form, sure, but it still was only effective against one person at a time and it used far too much magic energy to control it for long.

It wasn't too long after before Freed could see torches through the trees in the skyline. A long procession of men was heading across from them, and the two of them crouched in the skeletons of bushes and watched until they had passed.

"Laxus, can you make out what's going on?"

The blonde shook his head, but continued to take in his surroundings. Finally he sniffed, the scent of the forest filling up his nose but the clean smell of the fresh snow was tinted with something else.

"I can smell blood. Come on. Someone might need our help."

* * *

The clearing that Laxus had led them to was one of the most horrendous things that Freed had ever seen. They had walked past the path the mob had been walking down and further along a few hundred meters, until they had come to a break in the trees where the snow had been disturbed. From their viewpoint on the sidelines Freed could see one set of tracks heading into the middle from the opposite side of the clearing before the fresh snow was tinted with red. A boy with a shock of bright blue hair lay shirtless face down in the snow, arms splayed out to the side with a knife in his left hand as five tiny cloth dolls lay scattered around him.

The blood pattern looked random to start with, but the longer Freed looked the more obvious it was that the boy had drawn a magic circle in his own blood. Despite his extensive readings he had no idea what the circle did, but the boy was perfectly in the centre, spokes reaching from the edge of the circle to disappear in the larger pool of blood that had spread across the snow and started to melt. He had been attempting a ritual, and it had gone horribly wrong.

The two boys stood stock still. They had seen death before, they had killed plenty of monsters in their time, but it had never been _human_. Laxus reached out, grabbing Freed's hand as they took in the view in front of them.

"Is he… alive?"

Freed's voice broke Laxus from his trance, and the older boy shook his head before trying to listen. The winter provided a stillness that always helped his senses, and even behind the two loud heartbeats next to him he could pick up another, barely audible even to his ears. They had lost too much time already, they had to hurry.

Laxus rushed forward, not worried about the blood that was soaking his shoes and eventually his knees as he finally fell next to the boy and paused as he listened closer. The heartbeat was getting weaker by the second, and he looked to Freed for help. The green haired boy had knelt opposite him, and nodded at Laxus to turn this other boy over.

Both of the boys gagged in tandem as the body turned. The first thing they could see was a large wound across his chest, obviously self inflicted as it cut down from his right elbow to the left side of his torso, exposing flesh and the white bone of his ribs on the way. Freed's eyes wandered the boy's body, wanting anything to take his mind off the bloody mess in front of him. He couldn't have been much younger than Laxus, but he was malnourished and even smaller than Freed was. His right wrist had a long thin line across it which forced Freed to realise that he had cut his own wrist to draw his circle. He had a large blue tattoo across his face, partially covered by the wet hair that was plastered to his forehead. Freed reached up, stroking the strands up and out of the way to see the stick figure where it stretched over the top of his eyes and down to his cheeks. Freed's hand stroked down further, sticking two of his fingers under the boy's jaw like he had read in books and felt for the faint thumping of the boy's heart.

As soon as the pulse fluttered underneath the pads of his fingers he heard Laxus gasp, the Dragon Slayer standing to his feet and turning around in the stance he always took up when he was protecting Freed. Freed knew he had heard something that he would have no chance of hearing and he felt a shiver go through him that he knew wasn't due to the cold.

"Shit. They found us. I think they followed our tracks."

As soon as he stopped talking Freed began to hear the crashing of angry men through the dead winter branches, and instinctively drew the boy in front of him closer despite the blood it smeared across the front of his shirt.

"What are we going to do? You can't fight them all and I don't have time to set up a…"

He was interrupted by the first man in the mob crashing into the clearing, pausing for a second when he saw the scene in front of them. Freed knew it looked bad, the knife had fallen out of the blue haired boy's hand and lay on the floor, and their feet had disturbed what was left of the circle after it had already been soaked in blood. What if they thought they did this to the boy? But a grin spread across the man's face as he was joined by more and more of the angry mob, the same look of victory mirrored across all of their faces.

"Good job, boys. Now step out of the way so we can finish off the job. We don't want you getting hurt, do we?"

Laxus' voice raised, and to Freed it sounded terrifying but the men looked less than impressed.

"What do you want with him?"

The men's faces turned to confusion, before they all started to laugh. Freed clutched the boy to his chest, desperately starting to write runes into the snow to protect the three of them if it came to it, which at this point he knew it would.

"We want to kill it for what it's done. It's been terrorising our village for weeks now, we need to send it back to where it came from."

Freed paused for a second. The body in his arms looked human, but what if it wasn't? He had read stories about monsters who could transform into humans. But if there was even the smallest chance he could save this boy's life he had to take it. Laxus had drawn up as tall as he could now, puffing out his chest like he had seen the older men in the guild do.

"But he's just a boy!"

The men in front of them growled then, taking a step closer as Freed began to write faster and faster. The lead man gritted his teeth, speaking in low tones.

"He's a demon."

Freed began to shake in anger, the sclera of his right eye turning purple as his own demon started to rise up. The men all shrank back as the green haired boy on the floor spoke with a voice much lower than should have been possible.

"You want to see a demon?"

Laxus froze, but still didn't break eye contact with the men in front of him. If Freed was about to lose control, this could be bad.

"Freed. You need to use your runes and teleport him out of here."

What was left of Freed's control fought with the suggestion, opening his mouth to let him speak in his own voice again.

"But I've never transported someone else before, I don't think…"

"If you don't do it now he's going to die!"

Laxus exploded at the same time as his voice did, lightning shooting out of his body and arching towards the trees. With a crash one came down between him and the men in front of them as Freed changed the runes he was writing hurriedly. He had researched how to do this, he just needed to add the magic power he required. The tree in front of them started to crackle as the dead wood set alight, flames licking along the trunk as an extra barrier and Laxus took a deep breath to prepare for another attack.

Freed paused with one rune left to write. When he filled it in the two of them would be gone, but there was no chance he could take all three of them and the men had started to come around the other side of the clearing.

"Laxus…"

The boy in question turned, letting out a roar over Freed's head to take out as many of the men as possible. The men fell to the floor, torches landing on dried vegetation and setting it alight to add to the flames.

"I'll hold them off! Don't worry about me, get out of here!"

Freed squeezed his eyes shut as he finished the last line of the rune in the snow and felt the characters caress his body. He hoped Laxus had been right.

It took all of Freed's concentration to get every part of both of their bodies and minds to Porlyusica's place. She wouldn't be happy being disturbed this late at night, but hopefully she wouldn't turn them away. He pictured the small treatment room of her house, he had been treated there a few times after he had been injured, and hoped that he had gotten all the details correct.

He finally rematerialised about a foot above the floor, crashing down onto the wood before opening his mouth and starting to scream for help. His fingers groped for a pulse, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he found it, though it was even quieter than before. He was exhausted. Each of his muscles ached with the amount of magical energy he had expended and he panted as the old woman ran into the room.

"What on Earthland are you…"

Her voice trailed off as she saw the sight that lay in front of her and kicked into action. She was by Freed's side in seconds, picking the blue haired boy up in her arms before going to lie him on the bed.

"Idiot! You could have killed both of you." She whispered under her breath, before speaking up to make sure Freed could hear her. "Don't just sit there, send for the Master immediately."

Freed was on his feet in seconds, and nearly out of the door before he spoke.

"But, will he…"

"I don't know." There was no use in lying to him. The boy on the bed was probably going to die, but there was the smallest of chances he might live to tell the tale. "If he does survive it's thanks to you. He's in the best of care now."

* * *

Makarov had arrived at Porlyusica's house in record time, finding Freed curled up on a chair in the corner of her infirmary as she worked with all of the tools she had. He tried to stay strong for the young boy as he made his way across the room, resting a hand on his shoulder as he looked at Porlyusica.

"How does it look?"

The woman tutted, grabbing a potion from behind her without even looking.

"He's dragged himself up to a 20% chance of surviving. Which would usually be awful if you hadn't seen where he had been when he came to me."

Makarov nodded as Freed sniffled, hugging onto his knees tighter. He squeezed his shoulder slightly, before looking into his eyes.

"Where's Laxus?"

He hadn't expected Freed's eyes to spill over into tears at that, but they did. It was a few minutes until he could talk again, and Makarov still needed to make out his words between wracking sobs.

"He stayed behind, he…"

He was interrupted by a crash as a bolt of lightning shot through the window and hit into the wall on the opposite side. It left a scorch as it fell to the floor, materialising into a small boy with a shock of blonde hair before his body hit the wood and he spoke to the shocked room.

"He's here!"

Five small dolls spilt out of Laxus' arms as he sprawled on the floor, breathing heavily from the exhaustion his lightning body had given him as he carefully took the knife from the clearing from his belt and placed it onto the floor. Makarov was immediately by his side, fussing over him but he ignored his grandfather to look up at Freed.

"How is he doing?"

Freed just shrugged, looking into his friend's eyes as he did.

"Not… well. Why did you stop to bring those things?"

Laxus looked down at the dolls as they lay on the floor. They were made out of some kind of canvas, and had obviously been brightly coloured at some point. Now they were battered, a few missing button eyes and every single one soaked with blood. The knife was wickedly sharp, but otherwise plain with it's blade still stained.

"He had nothing else on him. They've got to be important to him, right?"

* * *

Freed was wrenched back into present times by the man on his chest contracting his muscles, crushing him as his nightmares began to take form. Freed exhaled gently, careful not to wake him up as he let his hand fall down to card through Bickslow's hair. If he got there soon enough Bickslow's night terrors may not have time to get a proper hold… By now it should have been a well practised art, but Freed was sure Bickslow had been put into his life just to cause him as much chaos as possible. He continued massaging the man's scalp, until the groaning stopped and his arms relaxed back down.

* * *

Freed had lain awake that night too, curled up with Laxus on a bed roll in the infirmary. Porlyusica never usually let people stay with the patients, but the two boys had kicked up such a fuss and, well, being Makarov's grandson had some privileges.

Makarov had stayed as well, sat on a chair next to the boy as Porlyusica worked. They had been quiet for a long time, but now Freed guessed that they thought he was asleep.

"You know what that mark is, don't you Makarov?"

There was a pause, and Freed desperately wished he cold open his eyes but he couldn't risk it. He waited for what seemed like minutes before his guildmaster spoke.

"I do."

A sigh came from the older woman, along with the ripping of tape as she set about changing the boy's bandages. She had bandaged up his eyes which Freed hadn't understood, but guessed they had been damaged at some point.

"So you know we should probably turn him in to the Rune Knights?"

Makarov simply hummed, and Porlyusica sighed even deeper than before.

"But I've known you for too long. You're not going to turn him in. That's just what you need, a Sieth mage to worry about."

Freed's ears picked up at that. Porlyusica had given him far more information than she thought she had. Firstly, it seemed that the boy would be joining Fairy Tail if he survived. Secondly, he was a Sieth mage. Freed didn't know what that was, but he knew he had to find out.

* * *

"So do you think he is a demon?"

It had been two weeks since they found the boy, and so far he hadn't shown any signs of waking up. His wounds were healing, although they were bound to scar, and his eyes were still bandaged although now Freed understood why.

Laxus was sat across the bed from him, fiddling with a lacrima in his hands as Freed read. He had… acquired some books from the Rune Knights using his very specific set of skills, and they had taught him a lot.

"No, he's not. He's a Sieth mage, although I can see why the villagers thought he was a demon. He steals and controls human souls."

Laxus simply nodded, putting the lacrima down and picking up one of the dolls that littered the bed. It had been cleaned, and Laxus could see the patterned canvas it was made of more clearly now along with two shiny metal buttons for the eyes. It looked happy.

"So are these voodoo dolls?"

Freed shook his head, looking up from the book in front of him.

"No, that's a different type of magic entirely. I think they're totems, what he puts the souls into when he's using them."

Laxus leant forward in his chair, folding his arms in front of him on the bed and resting his head on top of them.

"We need to think of a name for him. We can't just keep calling him 'boy'."

Freed looked up from his book again, thinking heavily on it. The boy hadn't had any identification on him, and they hadn't been able to ask him. A name would be useful…

"How about Bickslow? I read it in a book about a demon with blue hair."

Laxus nodded, looking down at the scruff of blue hair and agreeing it made a good enough name.

"Bickslow it is, at least until he can tell us otherwise."

With that they fell into a comfortable silence again. Freed could remember a lot about the symbols that had lay on the snow, he didn't think he could ever forget them, and he knew he was close to working out what the boy had been trying to do.

It took a few hours before he cracked it, dropping the book down onto the bed with a large thump as he looked up at Laxus.

"It was a ritual to remove his own soul from his body without dying! That's what he was trying to do!"

Laxus jumped in excitement at Freed's discovery, before the weight of his words sank in. He looked at Bickslow, half of his tattoo covered in bandages as his hair fell limp across his face.

"We've been assuming he failed, what if he succeeded?"

Freed leaned in closer, cocking his head to ask without words just what Laxus meant.

"What if that's why he's not waking up? What if he's just an empty body without a soul in it?"

Freed felt hot tears prickle behind his eyes as he thought the idea over in his head. He had never even spoken to this boy, but he still felt a connection to him. Freed didn't want to imagine what would happen if he didn't wake up.

"No… he has to wake up. He has to!"

The demon inside his eye started to rile up, and Freed began to shake as he started to lose control. The first tears started to fall down his cheek and he stood to his feet, launching across the bed to grab the boy that lay there.

"Can you hear me? Wake up! You dragged your chances of survival from five percent to eighty! You're strong! You have to wake up!"

Laxus pulled back on Freed's shoulders, the smaller boy falling backwards to sit heavily on the bed as he started to cry. Laxus wrapped his arms around his friend, holding his head into his chest.

"He'll wake up, Freed. I promise you."

* * *

It was another two weeks until Bickslow began to stir. Porlyusica had told Freed and Laxus that the longer he spent unconscious the less chance it was that the boy would wake up, but Laxus stated confidently that Bickslow was stronger than anyone she had ever met. She simply shook her head at the nickname they had given the unconscious boy and left the room.

Freed and Laxus spent their time reading to the boy on the bed and playing games between themselves. Makarov visited at least once a day, bringing them food and supplies and quietly proud of his grandson for the devotion he had already given to the unconscious boy. The two boys were sat on the floor, eating sandwiches and talking about the board game in front of them when Freed noticed something.

"Laxus… are those dolls floating?"

The Dragon Slayer looked up, seeing the five little canvas dolls that had taken up permanent residence on the bed hanging in mid air. The food and their game forgotten the two boys sprinted over to the bed, each trying to drag a doll before it wriggled out of their hands.

"Do you think he's waking up?"

Laxus' voice was a whisper, and Freed had just started to lean over the blue haired boy when he screamed as Bickslow's arms shot up into the air and grabbed his shoulders.

"Where are they? Where have they gone!?"

The boy's voice was hoarse as it squeaked out his questions. Freed struggled to keep his demon down, as Laxus tried to release his shoulders from Bickslow's grip. Each of the small dolls floated towards their owner, snuggling up to him like small animals and forcing his arms to relax. The boy groaned, reaching his arms up to his eyes and starting to tug at the bandages before realising they weren't coming off. He whined in one of the most pathetic voices Freed had ever heard, squirming around under all of his blankets.

"It was so dark… so cold…"

Freed felt the familiar sting of tears again, and instantly rubbed his eyes roughly. It wouldn't help the boy if he sounded upset. If only Porlyusica was here, but he knew the old woman had left to go get supplies. He put on the calmest voice he could muster before beginning to speak.

"You're going to be okay. My name is Freed, what's yours?"

The boy groaned again, sobbing slightly as he tore at the fabric on his face. Freed placed his hands over the other's gently, he knew how dangerous the boy's eyes could be.

"I just… I just wanted to join them. To be with them again."

Freed and Laxus jumped as a depressing whine echoed around the room from the five dolls that had resumed floating in the air. Laxus looked over at the Rune Mage, who simply stared back with wide terror-filled eyes. The Dragon Slayer swallowed, looking down at the boy in the bed.

"My name is Laxus. Do you have a name? Because we've been calling you Bickslow."

Freed shot a glare at Laxus, the older boy wasn't known for tact but that was one of the worst things he had said. The boy whined again, arching his back up as if he was in pain and Freed noticed dark stains starting to appear on the bandages where he had started to cry.

"I can't… I can't remember. I can't remember my name, or theirs. What have I done?"

* * *

Freed looked down at the runes in front of him. If they were right, Bickslow had managed to run quite a distance in the short amount of time he had been out of Freed's view. The boy ran fast.

It had been two months since he had woken up, and progress had still been slow. The boys memory still hadn't fully returned, and at this point Porlyusica said it probably never would. Although he knew the history of his totems he never remembered their names, and in the end they chose their own as the boy took the moniker his two friends had given him.

Bickslow could control his eyes relatively well, as long as he controlled his emotions but therein lay the issue. Porlyusica believed that the ritual split his mind, making him stronger and more closely bound to the souls under his control than probably any other Sieth mage, but it made his mind fragile. His sanity hung on a knife's edge, and it only got worse at night.

That's why he was here. The first job they had gone on they had learnt two things about Bickslow. Firstly, he had horrendous night terrors that often included dreams of suicide. And secondly, if someone tried to wake him during those night terrors his eye would open, filled with magic and take them over to force them to act out whatever he was dreaming.

That was why Freed woke up alone in the tent, the door wide open and the still cold wind whipping at his face. In his panic he almost forgot the tracking runes he carried, finally activating them to follow his two friends out across the cliff top to where it hung highest above the ground below. Both boys were stood there, wind shifting their clothes as the both of them glowed with bright green magical power, five small wooden cylinders surrounding the two of them. Freed had needed to sprint to reach them, knocking them both backwards and breaking the spell when Bickslow woke up.

Bickslow hadn't slept that night, and didn't speak the entire way back home. Laxus was just as quiet, the fear of waking up moments before plummeting to his death taking away all of his bravado. The silence was uncomfortable, and it wasn't long after they got back that Freed noticed that the Sieth was gone.

He could see him now, bright blue hair sticking out through the trees. Freed had no idea where he was going, but he had a bag full to bursting as his totems floated around him. The rune mage was sure that if he hadn't had used his wings he wouldn't have had a chance at catching up.

"Bickslow."

The boy in front of him froze, but didn't turn around. He had gotten a bit taller in the time they had known him, and filled out too although he was still a bit thin. His totems all paused as well, drawing in closer as if they sensed his fear.

"It's particularly cruel, don't you think." Bickslow's voice was slow, methodical, the way it was when he was really thinking what he wanted to say. "Sending you to take me away to be locked up. They know I won't fight you, don't they?"

The possibility of Bickslow being taken away either to jail for his illegal magic or to a lab to be tested on was made abundantly clear to all three of them, and Bickslow had taken to wearing a mask both as protection from his eye magic and to cover his tattoo. Freed sighed, pulling two small dolls out of his pocket.

"I haven't come to take you anywhere. I just thought you might want these back if you were leaving us."

Bickslow turned around slowly, looking at the dolls that lay in Freed's outstretched palm. The other three in the set were tucked away in his backpack, safe and sound. He had given one doll to Freed and the other to Laxus, as a thank you for saving him. It wasn't much, but they were the only possessions he had.

"I guessed you wanted them to stay together, right? Just like I want the Thunder Legion to stay together."

Bickslow's resolved faltered for only a second, before Freed noticed the magic of his eyes shining through his mask.

"I nearly killed half of your precious Thunder Legion!"

Freed sighed, closing his eyes for a second as he tried to figure out what to say. Although he was proficient with words in one sense, in others he knew he still had a lot to learn. He also knew that he had to correct the mistake Bickslow had made.

"Technically it was two thirds of the Thunder Legion…"

Bickslow's mouth was in a grim line, and Freed realised that he wasn't too pleased. He had to keep talking.

"You didn't do it though, did you? We knew you had problems the first time we met you. We knew it when we invited you onto our team. Yes, you should have told us about your nightmares because then we could have helped you properly. Come back with me, Bickslow. Please don't leave us."

Freed watched as Bickslow's fists clenched and he began to shake. Tears started to appear from underneath his mask, and within seconds he had crumpled to the floor. Freed took deep breaths, walking towards his friend and holding out his hand.

"Let's go back to Fairy Tail."

* * *

Freed looked down at Bickslow, fast asleep on his chest. It was a fear that had grown ever since that first time Bickslow ran away, and it never lessened again.

He had run away a lot of times. One time when he fought Natsu in the guildhall, Bickslow had won but was sure he was going to be kicked out of the guild. Another time when Lisanna died. The Sieth had explained to Freed later on it was out of fear that he might lose his family too, and then he'd end up like _Mira_. As soon as he had lost to Loke and Lucy he had ran, followed by a multitude of times after Laxus' banishment. Again when the guild disbanded, his fears of abandonment coming to the fore again. He always wanted to leave first. How could people abandon him if he was the first to leave?

Every time Freed used his tracking runes to find him, no matter how far away Bickslow got. Bickslow never figured out how he did it, just at some point Freed would appear with the two dolls he had given Freed and Laxus, and the one he had given to Evergreen later on. He would always offer Bickslow that he could leave, taking his dolls with him so they stayed together and every time Bickslow returned with him.

But it was still Freed's biggest fear. One day, he just knew, Bickslow wouldn't follow him home.


	3. Evergreen

**A/N - This is set when Bickslow is around 20 and Evergreen is around 18, just so you know!**

* * *

Bickslow had always prided himself on his ability to read people. Of course, his soul sight helped with that. The better he knew someone the easier it was for him to pick up the minute shifts in their soul, and by this time he could read Freed and Laxus like a book. But Evergreen was a different story.

She had always been such a closely guarded person, and that reflected in her soul. Often Bickslow couldn't detect the change until it was too late, or the outward emotion was too obvious to be ignored.

The two of them had an odd relationship, to say the least. Bickslow lived to entertain, and part of that was making jokes about his fellow teammates. He just wanted to make them laugh. Evergreen treated him with respect, although she would never admit it. He was powerful, and he really had tried to teach her to control her eyes. But other than that she tended to avoid him, sticking to Freed and Laxus the majority of the time.

That's why Bickslow couldn't figure out why, when he woke up with a pounding headache from whatever he had pumped into his system the night before, Evergreen was sat at the end of his bed. He groaned, rubbing his forehead as he pulled himself up to sit at the head of the bed. The girl looked over, passing him a magical pill and some water to help him out.

"The drugs never actually work do they, Bickslow?"

Bickslow groaned again. Evergreen wasn't usually the motherly type, in the five years he had known her she had never cared.

"Why are you here, Evergreen?"

Evergreen scoffed, sitting back in her chair as she crossed her arms.

"'Oh, thank you for coming and helping me, Evergreen. I'm really grateful'" Bickslow narrowed his eyes at her impression of him before she continued. "Don't go getting any ridiculous ideas, I came because Freed asked me to."

Bickslow remembered then. Freed had gone the night before, off on a mission that was going to take him out of town for at least a week. It would be the longest they had ever been without each other, and Bickslow had tried to drink to forget. Well. He had started off with drinking. He couldn't remember what happened after that.

"He sent you to look after me after one night?"

Evergreen looked up at him incredulously, and the worry in her eyes set him back for a moment. Evergreen's voice was quiet, and she leant forward to speak to him.

"Bickslow… You've been out for three days." Bickslow froze. That would explain why his head hurt so much. And why the babies we still asleep. Their tolerance had always been much lower than his. He didn't stand a chance of speaking before Evergreen did.

"How much did you take?"

Bickslow sighed, lying back down on the bed and pulling a pillow over his eyes. He didn't know. He just wanted to go back to sleep.

They had spent a lot more time together, when they were younger. Although it did take a long time for Evergreen to be comfortable around Bickslow. He was older than her, never as kind as Laxus had been the first few years. His emotional state could change on a dime, going from being jokey to suicidal in minutes and she never knew what would set him off. Not to mention the little wooden cylinders that floated around him constantly were downright creepy. But after a few months Evergreen had realised he had something she desperately wanted, a moderate control over his eye magic.

She was convinced he could teach her, but Bickslow had never been sure. And now, as she stared at the perfect stone statue of him in his ridiculous clothes for the uncountable time that week, she thought he might just be right. At least she'd gotten practice of cancelling her magic pretty instantaneously now.

She knew that the practice was over when he bent down to pick up his mask, still shuddering at the transformation he had gone through. Her magic was less painful now, sure, but it still felt weird. He made his way over to the door, letting his babies in before collapsing to the ground.

"You need to give me more instruction than just 'I think about it', Bickslow."

The boy groaned, rolling onto his back and letting his babies settle on his stomach. Evergreen went and sat on one of the sofas in their living room, resting her head on the arm of the chair as she looked at him through her glasses.

"And I keep telling you that I can't put it any better than that! I just concentrate really hard on _not_ using my magic. Just be thankful I'm still letting you do this to me, alright?"

Evergreen really was thankful. No one had ever done anything for her as much as her new team had. They had welcomed her in with open arms, despite the fact she was weak.

"I'm sorry. It's just… maybe it's too different to mine. Trust me when I say I know why you want to turn it off." Bickslow continued, raising one arm in the air as his babies span around it lazily.

He was right, of course. Out of everyone else in the world either of them had ever met, the two of them understood the curse of their eyes the most. They had to stick together.

When Bickslow woke up again Evergreen was out of the room, although he could hear her moving around in the living room. He groaned, a noise echoed by his babies out loud as they protested waking up in his head, and shuffled to the end of his bed to head out.

He scratched his belly as he walked into the living room, stretching out as he noticed Evergreen about to leave the apartment. She paused as she heard Bickslow stepping out, before turning the doorknob anyway.

"Where're you going?"

Evergreen sighed, knowing she wasn't going to be making the quick escape that she wanted to.

"I came to look after you like Freed asked, and now I've got better things to do with my time."

Bickslow took a few steps towards the centre of the room, and Evergreen started to turn around before regretting it when she realised he was still only in his boxers.

"Like what?"

Evergreen sighed, she didn't really have time for this. If she was honest she hadn't had time to go and look after Bickslow at all but here she was.

"A job. Fitting for the queen of the fairies. Definitely more than babysitting an overgrown child."

Bickslow paused, looking legitimately hurt and for a second Evergreen regretted being so short with him.

"Ouch, Ever. What did I ever do to you?"

Evergreen sighed, opening the door behind her and about to step out before she heard Bickslow talk in an even smaller voice.

"Please don't leave me. I'm Ever so lonely."

Evergreen paused, but didn't make any move to close the door. She really did want to help Bickslow out, but the job was more important. It took a while for her to realise why Bickslow had suddenly started grinning maniacally.

"Did you just make a pun out of my FUCKING NAME!?"

All sympathy that Evergreen had for him had gone, and he simply shrugged at her.

"You've been conscious for what, an hour since Freed left? How are you lonely already?"

Bickslow's babies groaned, and he moved over to stand behind her in the doorway. She could feel him try and reach out to her, but he knew that she hated any sort of personal contact and unlike Freed she didn't even put up with it for him.

"But I know he's not going to be right back. Please, Evergreen?"

Evergreen turned around, seeing the angry red scar across his chest and wrenching her eyes up to his.

"You've got your babies, haven't you? Unlike some of us you are literally never alone."

The totems all chirruped at her mentioning them, starting to spin in excitement around them. Bickslow smiled, a warm smile that no one but his babies got, before looking back down at Evergreen. He had shot up since they had met, and now she had to properly tilt her head in order to look into his eyes.

"... you do realise that's basically talking to myself, right? Freed says that I shouldn't do that or people will think I'm crazy."

Evergreen looked at him incredulously. She didn't think anyone thought Bickslow was sane after knowing him for more than five minutes.

"... Alright, crazier."

Evergreen sighed, rubbing her temples. Bickslow was obviously upset, but…

"I promise you I will come straight back after I've finished this job. I'll stay here with you until Freed gets back, is that good enough for you?"

Bickslow's face lit up, and finally allowed Evergreen to leave the room. She grimaced as she walked down the stairs, she had lied to him. She didn't think she would be coming back at all.

If Evergreen had thought Freed was royalty when she first met him, this house would be the kind of house he would have lived in. It looked like it had more bathrooms than inhabitants, sprawling across an even larger garden of apple trees.

She closed her wings as she landed softly on the driveway, flying had always been much easier than walking, and she much preferred it. She smoothed down her dress as she took a few steps towards the door, and raised her hand to knock.

The man who answered the door was maybe a few years older than her, and immaculately dressed with blonde hair slicked back across his scalp and the most piercing green eyes she had ever seen. She felt her own heart speed up, and he smiled sweetly down at her.

"Ah, you must be Evergreen. I've been expecting you."

Evergreen chuckled slightly as he stepped away from the door to allow her inside, and she slipped through as she tried to stand proudly. She needed to give the impression of confidence, at all times. She was Queen of the Fairies, she could do this. This was obviously the man she had been talking to, and he had seemed nice enough throughout all the times she had spoken to him through the lacrima.

"My family are just through here, if you'd like to follow me?"

The man led her through a maze of corridors that she didn't think she'd ever be able to remember even if someone drew her a map. Everything was beautifully decorated with white walls and gold leaf, and Evergreen knew that any one of the paintings which hung around her would cost more than she made in a year. The man made small talk as they walked, and she fell easily into a comfortable conversation until they brought her to a large room which she guessed was in the centre of the house, with large flat lacrima showing pictures of tundra, and deserts, and lush green forests. A table lay in the middle, easily large enough to seat twenty people but only four places at the far end were made up. Two men sat facing the door, slightly older copies of the man that had walked her in and they both stood to their feet as they entered the room.

"Ah, Miss Evergreen. It's lovely to meet you."

Evergreen bowed slightly as the first man placed a hand on her lower back and guided her over to one of the chairs. The youngest man pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit down before he took his own seat next to her. The two older men joined them, uncorking a bottle of wine and pouring it into their own glasses before offering some to her. She nodded, and raised the liquid to her lips to drink it. It tasted fruity and sweet, unlike the wine that they kept at the guild.

"I am unsure if my son here explained our family business fully, so I shall take you through it."

His voice was soft and pleasant to listen to, and Evergreen wondered whether or not he sang. It sounded like a singer's voice.

"We are magic distributors. Our magic allows us to take magic from one person and allocate it to someone else, for a price of course. My son here tells me that you are interested in giving your magic to us."

Evergreen nodded, and the man was just about to speak before she built up the courage to speak.

"If you didn't mind, Sir, I was interesting in joining the business as well. It sounds like good work."

The men looked between each other, and the younger one next to her laughed softly. Evergreen looked at them in confusion, before the one man who hadn't spoken yet spoke up.

"Although that would be wonderful, Evergreen, your magic is much more valuable to us."

Evergreen's head started to spin, and she looked down at her drink. Had they… drugged her?

"And unfortunately, no one ever survives the process of having their magic ripped out."

Evergreen started to panic, standing to her feet and trying to reach up to her glasses. Her arms felt like lead, and she couldn't lift them any higher than her shoulders. She turned to try and leave the room, taking a few shaky steps before she fell to the floor and she lost consciousness.

Evergreen woke up when someone started to mess with the rope which bound her wrists. She started to scream, kicking her legs out to try and connect with whoever it was and received a very familiar shout in return.

"Woah, Evergreen. Calm down. It's me, it's me."

Evergreen tried not to cry, but she still sobbed slightly as she fell to the ground, rubbing her wrists as she felt Bickslow pass her her glasses. She held them ready as he started to undo the bandages that were strapped across her eyes, and she slipped her glasses on to look around.

Five men were lay on the floor in their own blood, the three that she had seen before along with two more. It looked like they had all been fighting each other, and she knew that with Bickslow around that was exactly what they had done. His totems floated around him as he grabbed onto her shoulders, his mask back over his face but she assumed he was staring at her.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Evergreen shook, and Bickslow wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he guided her towards some stairs that she hadn't noticed in the corner of the room before.

"Did you… follow me?"

Bickslow went quiet, looking away as he led her through some of the corridors. She saw a couple more bodies here and there, each of them burned by what she knew to be the blasts from Bickslow's totems.

"I was worried about you. Do you know who these guys are?"

Evergreen went quiet, looking at her feet as he led her into a large office. This wasn't going to go well.

"The Mob, Evergreen? What the fuck were you doing taking a job for the Mob?"

The room was filled with bright green magic from both of their eyes as their anger grew.

"Why are you even here, Bickslow!? I could have handled this on my own!"

Bickslow started laughing that maniacal laugh, almost doubling over as all of the babies echoed the noise. She wondered if they knew what they were laughing at.

"The fuck were you gonna do, Ever? Seduce them? You were tied up and blindfolded."

Evergreen crossed her arms in defiance. They had stopped in the office, and she leant backwards against the desk. Not that anyone would care anymore.

"I would have done something!"

Bickslow turned on her then, standing over her as she tried to stay leaning casually on the desk. She couldn't show him just how scared she was, both from how close she had just come to dying and the fact that he seemed _legitimately angry_.

"What, Evergreen? What would you have done?"

Evergreen stood herself up, her brain desperately trying to think of a solution to her problem that didn't involve Bickslow helping her out but she couldn't think of one. Instead, she just shouted back in Bickslow's face, standing up on her tiptoes to try to look more imposing.

"Stop treating me like I'm weak!"

"I'M NOT!"

Bickslow's voice rattled the lamp on the desk, and forced Evergreen backwards. They stood staring at each other for a moment before the door to the office swung open, and two men ran in. Evergreen didn't even skip a beat, dropping her glasses down her nose to turn the men to stone. Two of Bickslow's totems dropped to the floor, the newly formed statues toppling for a moment before they fell to the floor and shattered. Bickslow was torn out of his gaze, all five babies returning to him before he started to pace the floor.

"I'm calling you fucking stupid. Babies, go and make sure there's no one else in the house, would you?"

The totems all squealed excitedly, flying out of the room as Bickslow continued to try and wear a hole in the carpet. It was a way of saying without words how strong he thought she was. Bickslow was awful at any close range combat, and sending his babies away mean he trusted her to protect him. He continued to talk, counting off the options on his fingers as he went.

"You _could_ have tried flirting with them long enough to get close and then petrify them. You _could_ have used your glittery shit to blow them to smithereens before they saw it coming. You _could_ have just kicked them in the dick. You _could_ have come in with your glasses off and petrified them without flirting with them first, but what did you do instead?"

Bickslow stopped then, staring her down as she just looked back.

"No seriously, Evergreen, I am actually asking. Because I really can't figure out what you did to end up like this."

"THEY PROMISED TO FIX ME!"

Bickslow didn't know what he had been expecting but it wasn't that. He stood in silence for a moment, and Evergreen just kept going.

"They promised to fix me, and I wanted a family. I thought if I helped them I could join their family and…"

"So what are we to you, Evergreen? Do we mean that little? And what about me? Am I broken too? Do I need fixing?"

His voice was quiet, and Evergreen almost had to strain to hear him as his questions went on. She shuffled her feet on the floor for a moment, before he shook his head and his voice returned to something that reminded her strangely of Freed.

"Don't answer that. Any of those. We need to kill all of them, now we've killed some of the family they won't stop until we're dead. I'll come and help you because _I_ still see you as family, whatever that means to you now. You can make your decision later, whether to stay or go."

With that he turned and left the room, shouting for his babies as he went. Evergreen stared at his back, debating whether to go or not. After a few seconds she followed him, knowing that as much as it hurt to admit she really did need the Sieth's help.

In the end the remaining members of the gang had been easier to track down than they thought. For all of the show there were only a few members left that hadn't been in the mansion, and their details had been held in one of the offices at the mansion. It had taken Bickslow a few hours to find all of the information, and less than forty-eight hours later the entire gang was eliminated.

They hadn't spoken for the whole time, not anything except battle tactics anyway. It wasn't until they got back to Magnolia, Bickslow automatically turning to walk Evergreen back to Fairy Hills that she stopped. The Sieth noticed she wasn't beside him within a few seconds, but didn't turn around to face her.

"Can I come stay with you tonight, Bickslow?"

The man didn't speak again, simply starting to walk again but this time he was heading to the apartment that he shared with Freed. The two of them had gotten in the door in silence, Bickslow pouring the two of them a cup of hot chocolate before disappearing into Freed's room. Coming back out he threw some of Freed's pajamas at her,heading into his own room and stripping down to his boxers, getting into the bed.

It had been a while since the two of them had shared a bed, but somehow Evergreen knew that tonight she wanted to revive the tradition. She changed into Freed's pajamas quickly, they didn't fit right but they would do, before crawling into bed next to the Sieth. He sipped his cocoa for a while, his babies floating lazily around them and chattering in between themselves.

"I didn't follow you because I thought you were weak, Evergreen."

His voice startled her, and she simply stared at the dark brown liquid in her cup. Both of them still had their eye protection on, and she was glad of it. It'd be too dangerous the mood they were both in for them to take them off.

"I followed you because _I'm_ weak. Both Freed and Laxus are gone and… I just can't swallow maybe losing you too."

Evergreen ignored the water hitting the inside of her glasses, angrily wiping away the tears out of her eyes. Bickslow finished his drink, moving one of the totems into the cup to take it outside before slipping off his mask and sliding further down into the bed, turning away from where Evergreen sat.

"Bickslow, I…"

Bickslow didn't turn around at her voice, it was far too risky.

"I love you. And Freed, and Laxus. It's just… don't you sometimes want more than… this? I don't want a life of fighting, I don't want a life always on the run. I just want to settle down, adopt a few kids, I don't know."

Bickslow sighed. Of course Evergreen wanted to adopt. She couldn't fathom passing her _curse_ onto someone else. He turned onto his back, calling his totems to him as they all littered the front of his body and snuggled up to him. Peppe slowly made his way over to Evergreen, and for the first time in a long while she let her hand drift down to stroke the top of his head.

"I had a family once, Evergreen. It didn't end happily. But if that's what you want, I swear I will do everything in my power to help you. But please, please don't kill yourself getting rid of your magic in the process."

Evergreen sobbed again, and Bickslow raised his arm up to pull her into a hug. She cried into his chest for a while, him rubbing over her back before he started to sing. Evergreen chuckled, whereas Freed had a beautiful voice Bickslow sang like a strangled cat. The Sieth huffed as the babies started to shush him, rolling his eyes behind his eyelids.

"Alright, I tried singing for you. You get nothing now."

Evergreen smiled. Freed always told her stories, but she knew that he sang to Bickslow. Maybe the Sieth thought he sang for everyone.

"Bickslow, about Freed…"

"I won't tell him." Bickslow's voice was quiet, and she felt it vibrate through his chest. "Or Laxus either. Now come on, go to sleep. Those two are due back tomorrow, and we have to go back to pretending to hate each other."

Evergreen chuckled. She really didn't hate Bickslow, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't pissed off by him almost constantly. Because what were brothers for, except to piss you off?


	4. Eye Magic

"So, I was thinking."

Freed tried not to jump as Bickslow dropped from the second floor of the guildhall and landed in a chair in front of him, nonchalantly crossing one leg over the other as he leant on his elbows. He simply turned over the page of his book and kept reading.

"That's dangerous."

* * *

He wasn't trying to be rude, or funny. The majority of the time it was legitimately dangerous when Bickslow was left with his own mind for too long. The Sieth huffed, his totems repeating the noise before returning to their previous chatter.

"If me and Evergreen looked each other in the eyes, who would win? No other magic, just our eyes."

Freed closed his book then, it was obvious that he wasn't going to be left alone. He sat back in his chair, regarding the man in front of him. It was a question that people always asked them but as of yet they had no solid answer.

"And how are you going to convince Evergreen to come against you this time?"

Although Bickslow had been excited to learn who's eyes were more powerful almost from the moment they met, Evergreen had never been as curious. She started off being too nervous to hurt him, before she became more aloof and decided that kind of idiotic game was beneath her. Bickslow simply grinned leaning forward until the entire of the top half of his body was resting on the table.

"Tell me Freed, what's the defining feature of the Raijinshuu?"

Freed knew exactly what answer Bickslow was shooting for, but he never wanted to make it easy for the Sieth.

"Our unwavering devotion to Laxus?"

Bickslow shook his head, still grinning wildly as Freed realised he hadn't quite caught onto what he was doing yet.

"We're the strongest three man team in the guild?"

Bickslow shook his head again, almost bouncing in excitement now at the fact he was still confusing Freed. The Rune Mage almost felt bad.

"We all led a completely unsuccessful coup?"

Bickslow sighed, dropping his head to the table as he slowly figured out what Freed was trying to do.

"C'mon, Freed. Don't be an idiot. We were literally just talking about it."

Freed grimaced, leaning back against the back of his chair as Bickslow remained sprawled across the table top.

"The fact that we're the only people that no one missed when we disappeared for seven years?"

Bickslow turned his head, looking around the guild as everyone else got on with their day to day activities. It was true, of course. None of them had any family, and no one outside the team really cared for them much either. When the Tenrou team had returned the rest of the guild had been ecstatic, but for the Raijinshuu? It had been simply business as usual. He moaned in annoyance, tilting his head slightly so he could look back at Freed.

"Why you gotta bring down the mood, Justine?"

Freed shrugged. He had been trying to get Bickslow off the topic, but obviously it didn't work that well.

"Anyway, Freed. The correct answer was we have magic in our eyes."

Freed nodded slowly, looking down at Bickslow as he tried to figure out just what the Sieth was thinking.

"So, I'm going to tell her that whoever wins a duel, eye magic only, becomes leader of the Raijinshuu."

Freed nearly choked at the casual way Bickslow had said it, but the Sieth simply sat up tall and started to grin as he started to expand on his plan.

"See, you don't have real eye magic, and it's only in one eye so why are you the leader? It makes no sense!"

Freed sighed, crossing his arms as he regarded the man across from him. He smiled slowly, his own ideas starting to form in his head as he stood up.

"A duel, you say? Using only eye magic. You'll need a referee, of course. Meet me out back in thirty minutes if you can talk Evergreen into it."

* * *

Freed was stood in the courtyard at the back of the guild when Evergreen and Bickslow turned the corner. He would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised that Evergreen had turned up. He really expected her to just tell Bickslow to fuck off again. The woman must have noticed his confusion as she scoffed at him.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm only doing this to get leadership of this team. The Queen of the Fairies deserves to lead."

Bickslow giggled at her as he ran to the other side of the courtyard, waiting for Evergreen to be ready as he removed his mask and blinked at the bright light for a few seconds. Freed coughed, standing in between them and looking from one to the other.

"Okay, guys. I don't know if Bickslow has explained, but this is eye magic only. If you both close your eyes, and open them when I say so."

Evergreen slipped her glasses off her eyes, closing the lids as she dropped them to her side. Bickslow made sure he was making eye contact before his eyes closed too, and Freed grinned as they both started glowing with green magic. The idiots. If it was a duel with eye magic only they wanted, a duel with eye magic only they would get.

"Dark Ecriture: Terror."

Two runes flew out of his eyes, flying away from each other as they simultaneously slammed into his friend's chest and he watched them both collapse to the floor in sync.

Bickslow wasn't outside the guild anymore. He was running away from a mob of people shouting behind him, five fabric dolls hugged to his chest. He was surrounded by fire, and the screams of people he couldn't save. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, life draining away as his babies started to fade. He was stood in a park, watching the man he admired the most turn his back and walk away. He couldn't think. He couldn't move. He couldn't…

Evergreen was a child again, huddled in a cold dark alleyway underneath some old cardboard boxes as men walked past slowly, looking for children to take with them. They promised a lot of them that they would ascend to some tower of heaven, and Evergreen had almost been tempted until she realised that they never came back. She didn't know why but a fear beat inside her chest more than it ever had before.

Freed released the magic, letting his friends breathing settle as he smiled to himself, grabbing a hold of his sword as he turned around and headed back into the guild, his leadership safe. Bickslow recovered first, he had been on the receiving end of Freed's runes much more than Evergreen had, and he rolled on his back as he stared up into the sky.

"We never stood a chance, did we, Ever?"

Evergreen groaned, not even wanting to move yet.

"No, we didn't."


	5. Blue Pegasus

Laxus sighed as he finished the last of his drink. The Blue Pegasus guild hall was just a busy as usual, guild members and the general public milling in together as they all tried to have a good time.

Bickslow was busy serving drinks, one on each of his totems as he incorporated his own little show into his work. He threw bottles up into the air, possessing them for a moment to make sure they landed perfectly before catching them behind his back. The patrons were delighted, and Bickslow was as well. He had always been a performer, and this guild provided him with a constant captivated audience. Every time he needed to shake a cocktail he held the bottle perfectly still as he himself performed front flips, bringing his feet quickly up and over his head before landing lightly back on the floor, tossing the bottle up in the air until it landed perfectly on the bar. Everyone clapped and Bickslow practically _glowed_. If the guild was this good, along with the tips, he would never have to take a job again.

Freed was over on the other side of the guildhall, flanked by two rather attractive men who were all over him. Freed was playing hard to get, giving shy smiles occasionally, but Laxus knew he was loving it. Since they got here, Freed had never gone to bed alone. Laxus would never understand it, but as long as Freed was alright with it he guessed that it was fine. Today's men of choice were two blondes, and Laxus just knew Freed would be going home happy. He had always had a thing for blondes.

Suddenly the music kicked up, and Laxus looked up slightly to see the curtains of the stage pull open and the silhouette of a woman in a skintight dress walk forward to the microphone silhouette reached out to the microphone, and the first words of a song left her lips.

"First things first, I'ma say all the words inside my head…"

Her voice was low, and shot shivers down Laxus' spine. The lights came up and he could see Evergreen, hair styled in perfect long curves, a green dress hugging her curves perfectly. Evergreen hardly ever sang in public, but since coming to Blue Pegasus she had found her own. They all had. Just not Laxus.

He sighed as he ordered another drink, Bickslow throwing it to him with a smile as it flipped through the air and landed in front of him. Laxus opened the bottle, throwing the cork back behind the bar and into the bin. He leant back on his chair, and prepared himself to listen to the rest of Evergreen's set.

They had been there for a month now, and his entire Raijinshuu had already settled in perfectly. But Laxus hadn't. He hadn't asked them to follow him here, it had just been an unspoken thing that they would come too. He had been thinking the last couple of weeks of going solo. Sure, you made a lot less money if you were unaffiliated with a guild, but Laxus had been a man without an emblem for a while before. But he couldn't. He couldn't pull the Raijinshuu away from… well… happiness. They were truly happy. And they were definitely going to track him down until they found him and refused to leave.

The question was… why? Before he had tried to take over the guild it was so obvious. He was the Thunder God! Of course they were gonna follow him, who wouldn't? But now? They had never told him, no matter how much he asked. They would just laugh, shrug it off, and go right back to what they were doing. Laxus' Dragon senses forced him to want to bring his team close to him and never let go, but his draw to protect them was stronger. And if they would be happy without him? Then that's what he had to do. The only question was how to get them to not follow him. Which he could only figure out if he knew _why_ they followed him.

"She's quite something, isn't she?"

Evergreen was barely halfway through her normal songs when Hibiki interrupted Laxus' thought process to… Laxus didn't know. He assumed just to bother him. Laxus grunted, rolling his eyes to the side and hoping that the man in front of him would just leave.

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine? How _do_ you get people to follow you?"

Laxus nearly dropped his drink, glowering at the man in front of him. He knew that Hibiki had a way of linking people's minds together, but he hadn't realized that meant he could read them too. The man opposite him laughed, waving his hand non committally.

"I didn't read your mind. It's just… blatantly obvious what you're thinking. Why don't you just ask them?"

Laxus opened his mouth, and then closed it again. He was sure it didn't look right on his face. He hadn't thought of actually asking them. Would they answer him honestly? What if they just followed him because that was what they always did? Or… what if they were scared? They knew how much Laxus held onto them, were they scared of what he would do if they tried to leave?

"Go and talk to them, Laxus."

The Dragon Slayer sighed. Annoyingly, the other mage was right. If he ever wanted his family, maybe now his only family, to be happy he would have to talk to them.

"Freed, we need to talk."

The Rune Mage sighed, turning around from where he sat in the blond man's lap. His hair was down and flowing over his shoulders and Laxus knew that meant he would be leaving the guildhall soon. Laxus shuffled on his feet awkwardly, and as soon as he did Freed just knew something was wrong. He stood up, turning to the men he was talking to and whispering something in their ears before he headed to a more private area of the guild hall.

As soon as they were away from prying eyes and ears Freed shut the door behind them, turning to place his back against it and looking at Laxus to explain why he had ruined his fun.

"Freed… why do you still follow me?"

Whatever Freed had been expecting, it wasn't that. He was rendered speechless for a moment, before he coughed and rubbed his temples.

"You really need to ask me that, Laxus?"

There was no reply, just Laxus looking uncharacteristically nervous as he shuffled from foot to foot. Freed sighed, turning to leave before he felt Laxus' hand on his shoulder.

"I love you, Laxus. I always have, and always will do."

It was an answer Laxus had been expecting, but he had hoped for something a little bit more… descriptive.

"You saved me, Laxus. I was going to die in that hospital. You came in and saved me, and you saw me as a _person_. You weren't scared of me. You weren't disgusted. I owe my life to you, Laxus. I meant what I said in that cathedral, you know. I will follow you no matter where the road may lead."

With that Freed left the room, and as Laxus stood in the doorway he say the rune mage leave the guild hall with his two blonde friends in tow. Well. That was Freed sorted. The next may be more difficult.

Bickslow was spinning a bottle on his finger as he juggled two more with his left hand when Laxus walked over to him. He served his drinks before making his way over to the Dragon Slayer, tongue hanging out as it did to reveal his old Fairy Tail tattoo. Every member of the Raijnshuu had refused to get rid of them, and simply gotten their Blue Pegasus tattoo's somewhere else. Freed's had gone on his right hand, Evergreen's on her thigh, Laxus' on his left shoulder. Bickslow's had gone on the right side of his neck, causing a lot of jokes about copying Elfman but the Sieth had just shook them off.

"Bickslow… I need to ask you something."

The Sieth grinned, leaning forward on the bar until his mask was ridiculously close to Laxus' face. The Dragon Slayer took a deep breath, and just came out with it.

"What would you do if I left, Bickslow?"

Bickslow almost visibly deflated, and Laxus knew that he had touched a nerve. Their conversation was scored by Evergreen's singing, and it managed to stop anyone else from hearing their words.

"I would follow you, of course."

Laxus sighed, if Freed had started off vague Bickslow was even worse. He tapped his fingers on the counter in time to the music. Bickslow's face wasn't happy anymore.

"But _why_? You never listen to anyone, not Freed, not the guild master. Why on Earthland do you still follow me?"

Laxus wasn't expecting the next move. Bickslow grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him close until their foreheads touched. Well, until Laxus' forehead touched Bickslow's mask. He had to strain his ears to hear what Bickslow was saying, but he was glad he did.

"You run away if you want to, Laxus. You turn your fucking back on me like everyone else has. I don't care where the fuck you go, I will track you down and I will find you."

His babies had come from delivering their drinks and hung around the both of them almost menacingly. Laxus didn't doubt it, either, judging by the amount of times Bickslow had found him during the time he had been banished just to check up on him. After a moment Bickslow let go of his shirt, and went straight back to serving drinks. Somehow Laxus knew that he wasn't getting anything else out of him.

Laxus was waiting for Evergreen when she got off the stage. She sighed, starting to change into something more comfortable to head home without even worrying that Laxus was still in the room with her.

"Evergreen. I need to ask you something. Why do you all still follow me? Is it because you're scared of me?"

Evergreen scoffed, dropping her dress to the floor before heading to grab a t-shirt and jeans. She was obviously completely checked out for the night, even though she still looked exquisite in the casual clothes. She didn't even give him the courtesy of looking at him.

"I may not be Queen of the Fairies anymore, Laxus, but what on Earthland gives you the idea that I am scared of you?"

Laxus sighed, leaning against the wall of her dressing room.

"Because why else wouldn't you leave? Other than you're scared that I wouldn't let you go?"

Evergreen chuckled, grabbing her bag before going to walk out of the door.

"Laxus, if I wasn't happy with you there is not a force on Earthland that would stop me from walking away. But go ahead, pretend I'm scared of you if it makes you feel better."

With that she was gone, and Laxus was left with more questions than answers. Trust his team to be loyal to a fault, and still spend all of their time winding him up. Maybe he would stay a little longer, if only to watch them complete their journey to being completely independent. He couldn't guarantee that he would stay forever, but at least for the foreseeable future he would remain the leader of his team.


End file.
